Just Because A Chocolate Dial Rolex Daytona

This is one great looking Daytona. It is a reference 6240 with "chocolate" dial. These perfectly faded brown dials are highly sought after, and sometimes take the term "tropical." This one happens to be just perfect, and that's all we have to say about that.

At this year's edition of Baselworld, Rolex announced a sporty addition to its Yacht-Master line: a model in 18k Everose gold on the new "Oysterflex" bracelet designed with ergonomics and durability in mind. The model's warm-toned, Everose-gold case features a uniformly-polished surface, offering bright contrast to a matte-black Cerachrom bezel insert and bracelet.

In this special HODINKEE feature of Inside The Manufacture, I will recount a four-day experience that completely changed my perspective on the world's most important watch maker – the time that I got to spend inside all four of Rolex's actual production facilities in Switzerland. I had many ideas of what I would see, and while some were accurate, others could not have been further from the truth. Below, you'll hear and see what it is like to go inside Rolex in a way that few have, or will ever get to experience. This is inside Rolex, like you've never seen it before.

Vintage Rolex watches are all about the details. The smallest differences can separate a relatively common $5,000 watch from a rare $50,000 watch, and learning about them is a never-ending journey. It's part of what makes vintage Rolex so much fun to collect. Last week a new website popped up dedicated entirely to picking apart the history of the reference 5513 matte dial Submariner, cataloging the many subtle changes in the matte 5513 over its nearly 20-year production history.

One of the most famous Rolex wearers of the 20th century was five star general and president Dwight D. Eisenhower. In fact, it was Eisenhower who would be the very first US president to wear a Rolex, and his solid 18k Datejust is something of a vintage Rolex lover's lore. Eisenhower famously wore his watch on the cover of Life Magazine, and guess what? It's coming up for sale this September. Click through for the full details.

John Goldberger doesn't play in the NBA (though, in his younger years, he could dunk a basketball – I've seen proof). He hasn't won a Grammy, nor has he dated Jessica Simpson, Jennifer Aniston, or Katy Perry (that we know of), but even if he had, he wouldn't talk about it. What John Goldberger is is a true horological scholar and serious collector of the highest order. In episode three of talking watches, this true connoisseur of the finest watches in the world unmasks a small portion of his remarkable collection for the very first time. Included are more than a few true dream watches, including two pieces that have never been seen anywhere in the world before today. This is talking watches with mega-collector and horological author John Goldberger...

I am in the middle of an extended stay in Geneva for GPHG voting (which takes place today! awards next Friday!), some auction fun (including the incredible Daytona sale), and some other meetings. While I town yesterday, I swung by Antiquorum's offices to see what they had in store in their sale, taking place this Sunday. They have some really incredible pieces as always, but one that really caught my eye was this watch you see here.

Grahame Fowler and his West Village shop are a bit of a New York fashion institution. He is universally revered for his earnest designs, top-tier taste, and a quality rarely found in men's clothing of today – his eponymous label is designed and produced right here in New York City. He sells hand-made boots by Trickers and Oak Street, and the kind of vintage Levis and Barbour jackets that would make McQueen proud. Grahame Fowler is the real deal. And so is his watch collection.

Vintage Rolex collecting is a funny thing. One can never be sure just how rare or valuable a watch will be because new things are being discovered daily. Today, our executive editor tells us about a close encounter with one of (if not THE) rarest, most valuable Rolex Daytona in the world. It is called the "Albino" Daytona, and the watch was made famous by Eric Clapton when his sold at auction in 2008 for $505,000. This example is completely fresh-to-market, and while it may not look like much, this is one for the ages. Read on for the full story of this incredible Albino Daytona.

Over the summer, at the launch of the new Rolex Deep Sea D-Blue, I had the chance to not only speak to James Cameron about his mission to explore the Mariana Trench (the deepest part of the world's oceans), but also to see, if briefly, two massively important watches. In fact, it was 55 years ago this month that one of these two watches earned its stripes when Captain Don Walsh and Jacques Piccard descended to the bottom of the ocean's floor – over 35,800 feet. The other? It is the actual watch that accompanied James Cameron into the trench decades later. These are the two deepest diving watches, ever.

​This afternoon in Geneva, Antiquorum held its spring sale. One watch that everyone was closely watching was the Paul Newman Daytona above. What made this one so interesting was its unique dial, which is a lemon color (as opposed to cream), with white markers in the sub-registers (as opposed to gold). What's more, and to us what made this watch REALLY special is its serial number, which indicates this watch could very well be one of the first reference 6263 Daytonas ever built.